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Children should be vaccinated to protect them against infectious
diseases. Vaccines contain either noninfectious fragments of bacteria or
viruses or whole forms of these organisms that have been weakened so
that they do not cause disease. Giving a vaccine (usually by injection)
stimulates the body's immune system to defend against that disease.
Vaccination produces a state of immunity to disease and is thus
sometimes termed immunization (see also Overview of Immunization).
Vaccine Effectiveness
Vaccines have eliminated smallpox and have nearly eliminated other infections, such as polio and measles,
that were once common childhood scourges in the United States. Despite
this success, it is important for health care practitioners to continue
to vaccinate children. Many of the diseases prevented by vaccination are
still present in the United States and remain common in other parts of
the world. These diseases can spread rapidly among unvaccinated
children, who, because of the ease of modern travel, can be exposed even
if they live in areas where a disease is not common.
Vaccine Safety
No vaccine is 100% effective and 100% safe. A few vaccinated
children do not become immune, and a few develop side effects. Most
often, the side effects are minor, such as pain at the injection site, a
rash, or a mild fever. Very rarely, there are more serious problems.
Vaccines are continuously undergoing improvements to ensure safety and effectiveness. Improvements include the use of
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Acellular pertussis vaccine (typically combined with diphtheria and tetanus vaccine—DTaP), which has a much lower chance of having side effects than the previously used whole-cell pertussis vaccine (also combined with diphtheria, and tetanus—DPT)
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An inactivated, injectable polio vaccine instead of the previously used oral polio vaccine
The oral polio vaccine, which is made of a live, weakened virus,
can cause polio if the weakened virus mutates, which happens once in
every 2.4 million children. Although this risk is extremely low, it has
led doctors in the United States to completely switch to the injectable
polio vaccine.
Before a vaccine can be licensed, it (like any medical product) is tested in controlled clinical trials.
Such trials compare the new vaccine to a placebo or to a previously
existing vaccine for the same disease. Such trials show whether the
vaccine is effective and identify common side effects.
However, some side effects are too rare to be detected in any reasonably sized clinical trial and do not become apparent until after a vaccine is used routinely in many people. Thus, a surveillance system called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (see VAERS) was created to monitor the safety of vaccines that are used in the general public. VAERS collects reports from people who believe that they had a side effect after a recent vaccination and from health care practitioners who identify certain side effects after a vaccine was given, even if they are unsure the effects are related to the vaccine.
However, some side effects are too rare to be detected in any reasonably sized clinical trial and do not become apparent until after a vaccine is used routinely in many people. Thus, a surveillance system called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (see VAERS) was created to monitor the safety of vaccines that are used in the general public. VAERS collects reports from people who believe that they had a side effect after a recent vaccination and from health care practitioners who identify certain side effects after a vaccine was given, even if they are unsure the effects are related to the vaccine.
To help people evaluate the risks of vaccination, the federal
government requires doctors to give parents a Vaccine Information
Statement each time a child is vaccinated. Also, a federal Vaccine
Injury Compensation Program has been established to compensate people
with proven vaccine-related injuries. This program was established
because doctors and health authorities want as many children as possible
to be protected from life-threatening diseases. When considering the
risks of vaccination, parents must remember that the benefits of
vaccination far outweigh the risks.
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